Schweiger Vineyards has 35 planted acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Malbec, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Grapes grown at the top of the slopes surrounding the Napa Valley present unique challenges; for instance, terraces too steep for a tractor. However, those same steep terraces also provide the drainage to produce smaller berries with thicker grape skins to produce the highest quality wines.
OUR VINEYARD
SOIL
Here at Schweiger Vineyards we have 5 types of volcanic soil. There is hardly any clay present, which allows the soil to absorb and hold water like a sponge for our vine roots. Our roots can run 25 feet deep into the soil structure. With this depth, our vines get into contact with different minerals, which defines the term “minerality presence” in the finished wine (if you’ve been curious when reading tasting notes).
CLIMATE
Because of our 2,000 ft elevation we have a unique advantage in summer months, when the valley’s thick layer of morning fog hovers at 1,500 ft elevation. Therefore, when its covering the valley floor until noon, our vineyard gets morning sun. Also favorable to our elevation, our vines enjoy the cool breeze with temperatures that max out at only 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit in summer. Because there is no extreme heat wave on Spring Mountain, we have the luxury of a prolonged harvest and wait on the fruit to mature slowly. Our harvesting months occur from August through November. Besides being blessed with ideal growing weather, our average winter rainfall is two times the amount of the valley floor — 60 inches!
VINEYARD
There are 35 acres of planted grapevines on-site at Schweiger Vineyards. We use what we call The Schweiger-Smart trellis system, which is a system Fred Schweiger developed with Viticulturist Richard Smart. It’s a combination of two systems meant to open the grape canopy and minimize brush. The goal is to achieve filtered sunlight so the grapes are not totally shaded. We use 6 trellis wires and varying heights of two- and three-foot cross T-bars.